Nittany Notes: PSU is on the rise (again)

By Chris Morelli on November 13, 2017

UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State is back on track.

With a 35-6 win over Rutgers on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions ended a two-game losing streak and kept alive their hopes for a New Year’s Day bowl bid. Penn State is now 8-2 overall, 5-2 in the Big Ten. Just a pair of games remain – the home finale vs. Nebraska (Nov. 18) and the regular season finale at Maryland (Nov. 25).

Those two games are very winnable for the Lions. While the Big Ten title and College Football Playoff are probably out of the question, a 10-2 season will be nothing to sneeze at.

Let’s take a look at some news and notes from Nittany Nation:

Kick Time Set

Penn State’s home finale with Nebraska next week will kick off at 4 p.m. and be televised by FS1. The game was eligible for a noon, 3:30 or 4 p.m. kick time.

The early AccuWeather.com forecast for Saturday is calling for 44 degrees with periods of rain. Temperatures will fall into the early evening hours.

Penn State is now 71-22-5 on Homecoming and has won six of its last seven Homecoming matchups. The Nittany Lions have played Rutgers three times on Homecoming. They are 3-0 against the Scarlet Knights.

With the Homecoming win, Penn State extended its home winning streak to 13 games, tied for 10th longest in the Big Ten. It is the longest home winning streak since a 14-gamer from 1990-1992.

Movin’ Up

With the lopsided win over Rutgers, Penn State moved up in both polls.

In the AP Top 25, the Nittany Lions moved up three spots to No. 13. There are 12 teams ahead of Penn State: Alabama (1), Miami (2), Oklahoma (3), Clemson (4), Wisconsin (5), Auburn (6), Georgia (7), Ohio State (8), Notre Dame (9), Oklahoma State (10), TCU (11) and USC (12). Penn State is one of five ranked Big Ten teams.

Former Penn State tight end Jesse James saved the day for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. With the Steelers trailing, 17-9, Chris Boswell’s extra point attempt was blocked. The ball bounced right into the waiting arms of the Colts’ Marthias Farley. Holder Jordan Berry and James gave chase, but it was James that tackled Farley around the 3-yard line. If Farley gets into the end zone, that’s 2 more points for the Colts.